SNK One-Shots
by WinterDrake
Summary: A collection of random, shorter one-shots, both canon and AU. Will mostly feature Levi and Petra, but may include stories about other characters as well. Newest addition: The Forest.
1. Protection

_Update:_

_Any fics posted here will likely not be continued, sorry! I usually have a longer story in mind but don't have the time or capability to turn them into full length fics. I usually end up posting them here as short ones instead. You can easily use your imagination to continue the fics if you want. ;p_

_Though, if anyone would like to adopt these stories, write their own version, continue them, etc. as your own works, please feel free to send me a PM. I would love to have anything here turned into a longer fic, as long as it stays Rivetra or has no pairing but there is at least frienship between the two characters._

_Thanks!_

* * *

**Protection**

Levi woke with a start, pressing a hand to his shoulder and groaning as his movements caused him pain. The dark haired man felt surprising softness beneath him as he began to take notice of his surroundings. It was night and his vision of the sky was obscured by something above him. Levi could hear the faint sounds of the forest as he lay on his back on the ground. His hands touched the ground and found it covered in leaves and even some flowers. He was confused as to why this was.

The last thing Levi remembered, he had been shot at and hit at least twice by the bullets of his pursuers. He had run into the forest to escape and collapsed against a rather familiar tree. It was an odd one, always blooming with strange amber colored flowers that he had never seen anywhere else. It also wasn't as tall as the trees around it but grew well even though the taller ones blocked its share of sunlight most of the day.

Levi liked to read or rest against the tree when he was tired from hunting or patrolling the area. He knew there was something very strange about it but in a good way, not bad. Flowers were more abundant and grew more beautifully in the vicinity of the odd tree than any other place in the forest. Deer, birds and other animals were always hanging around as well. Levi always felt calmer and more relaxed when he was here.

As the man glanced around him and allowed his eyes to adjust to the darkness, he noticed there were branches heavy with foliage surrounding him. Had the branches of this tree always been so low? He grunted as he pulled himself into a sitting position with his back against the solid trunk of the tree. The leaves obscured his vision but they might have saved him from being found by his pursuers if they passed nearby.

Checking his arm and shoulder, Levi was was surprised to find that they were not bleeding though dried blood caked his skin. He knew the bullets had gone clean through both his arm and shoulder but there had been no time to bandage them. He had collapsed against the strange tree, likely from blood loss or exhaustion, without doing so.

The dark haired man found a strange, sticky substance on his bullet wounds, similar to honey or tree sap. It stopped the bleeding and Levi realized that the wounds were less painful than they should have been. It was not the first time he had been shot.

"Hello?" Levi rasped, his throat dry. There was no answer.

Levi pushed himself to his feet and parted the branches. He remembered now that the branches of this tree were never this low, as he had spent long hours around it. Taking a few steps back once he was free, the wounded man saw that the branches were drooped over the ground he had slept under. It was almost like they were protecting him.

"...Thanks." Levi hesitantly spoke after searching to see if anyone was around. He felt a little foolish for thanking the air, not really knowing what, or who, had helped him. He turned away quickly after giving the tree one final look to begin his walk home. Even if he saw the evidence, it was hard to believe the tree had fucking moved. Just what kind of creature was it? No regular tree would do that. And how had his wounds been treated?

Farlan and Isabel would be waiting for him, probably worried that he had not come back when he said he would. Though they did not want him to go, Levi needed to steal medicine for them from the city. He had been caught in the act but still managed to acquire the medicine. Levi felt the risk had been worth it.

Not caring of the discomfort, Levi hurried back to his home, hidden deeper in the forest. It had once belonged to a hunter but it had been taken over by Levi and his friends when they stumbled upon it, already abandoned. Chased out of the city after a heist gone wrong, they had no choice but to find a new home until they could go back. The guards didn't seem to want to allow that however so they had been living there for the last six months.

* * *

As the black haired man walked away, a feminine form watched him from the tops of the tree he had slept under. She sat delicately on the topmost branches shrouded by foliage. Her eyes followed the human until he was lost from sight. The female sighed as he left, wanting fiercely to be able to speak with him. She'd been worried when he arrived at her tree in such a state. The man had been visiting for the past half a year and she could not help but be drawn to only human that had spent so long with her.

Amber eyes looked down at her clothing, made of the skin of deer she had found, and hands touched the the antler-like branches on her head. She was not human. What would the man think of her if he saw her? Her hope was that he was able to accept her as a friend. She was lonely though she had the forest and its creatures as company. They were not enough anymore.

The ginger haired creature gently touched a budding flower on a branch beside her, causing it to bloom. She plucked it, inhaling its scent, before weaving it into her hair. She loved her tree's flowers. Did the human like them too? She thought so for he had plucked or smelled them on occasion as well. Maybe one day she would be able to muster up the courage to reveal herself. She hoped it would be soon.

* * *

_This will be the place I post my shorter one-shots and scenes of fics that I wrote but will not finish. Hopefully you will be able to find something you like. Enjoy! :)_


	2. Donor

**Donor**

"You're lying." Levi Ackerman, hungover and in bed, growled into the sleek black phone in his hand. The blanket was half covering him as the sun's afternoon rays shone into his room from the window.

"_I'm not. You went to a sperm bank last night. Check your texts last night if you don't believe me._" The voice on the other end replied. "_Some of them are actually quite interesting. You said your-_"

"Hanje, why would I do that?" Levi cut her off as he pressed the heel of his free hand against his forehead. His head hurt like a bitch.

"_I don't know how your drunk mind thinks but you need to call them unless you want to have a legion of mini-you's swarming the city in a few years! No one needs that!_" Her voice was too loud. Levi moved the phone away from his ear as her voice was causing his headache to worsen.

The black haired man quickly hung up on his friend without a proper goodbye. Checking his texts, Levi found that Hanje was telling the truth, much to his shock and embarrassment. He would never hear the end of this from her. Levi would need to bribe her so that she would at least keep some of the more embarrassing texts a secret. He already knew she would tell Erwin about the sperm bank no matter what he offered.

Fuck, this was bad. How had those bastards at the sperm bank not noticed he hadn't been in the right state of mind when he offered to donate his sperm? But then again, Levi had been told by his friends that it was hard to tell when he was drunk most of the time. Levi guessed they would need to screen his donation so he would have time to call them and get it removed.

Levi used his phone to find the sperm bank's number and dialed them. Luckily, there was only one such place in the city. Levi could feel both apprehension and anger rising up within him as he waited for them to pick up. He hoped they hadn't used his sperm yet. It was too soon for that right?

After eight rings, someone finally picked up.

* * *

Throughout the next fifteen minutes, Levi's angry demand scared the employees senseless. They stumbled over themselves to destroy his genetic material. Once it was confirmed to be done, Levi shut his phone and tossed it on the bed in relief.

The man found it appalling that his drunken mistake could have led him to having children he never knew about. Though he did not want children, Levi found the thought of having children and not be a part of their life unsettling. He would much rather have no children at all. To not be able to know them or know of them felt like some sort of violation.

Letting his anger out on someone made Levi feel better, though his headache had not yet gone. He got up quickly so he could make some tea, believing everything had been dealt with.

* * *

"_You're fucking kidding me!_" The man's voice roared over the phone.

"I'm so sorry sir, it was a mistake! We didn't realize it until now and the procedure has already been done!"

"_How the hell did this happen?_" The cold, angry voice sent shivers down the spine of the terrified sperm bank employee.

"... Your genetic material got mixed up with another donor's when you called to get it destroyed." The man replied hesitantly. They had been so panicked that day when Mr. Ackerman called to yell at them that they made mistakes, including destroying one of the wrong samples and putting back Mr. Ackerman's in it's place.

The employees did not notice the mistake until a client's doctor called them yesterday. Her doctor wanted to make sure the pregnancy was progressing well and asked the woman to get a blood test done for the child in her womb. What she found was that the blood type of the child was not what is should have been. The client was O negative, the chosen donor was B- so how was it that the child was A positive?

They checked the tray of the chosen donor's samples and found that Mr. Ackerman's labeled vial had been placed there by mistake. It just so happened that out of the fifteen samples in that tray, Mr. Ackerman's had been taken to be used. The doctor performing the artificial insemination procedure had not checked the labeling on the vials as all should have belonged to the same donor.

"_Its not JUST a mistake you piece of shit. I have a child! With a woman I know nothing about!_"

"Er, sir. You don't have to have any part in the child's upbringing. You can just pretend it doesn't-"

"_Fuck you! That's… That's not what I want! You will tell me the name of this woman._"

"I-I can't do that sir. That is-"

"_Unless you want me to come down there and rip the information out of you myself then you'd better tell me her name. NOW._" Levi's voice grew even more threatening.

"Uhh, Petra! That's all I can give you. I'm sorry and there will not be another incident like this again! Goodbye." The man slammed the phone down quickly. Knowing he would be fired if anyone found out about this, the man decided to just not mention this incident and hope for the best.

* * *

It took Levi less than five minutes to find that there was a Petra Ral, recently pregnant, living in the same city as him. Her Facebook revealed that she had done the IVF procedure a few months prior. This ginger haired and amber eyed woman was undoubtedly who he was looking for.

Levi learned quite a bit about her from her profile. She was twenty-five, nine years younger than him. She had taken several years of photography courses and became a quite successful photographer. He knew she took self defense classes most of her life and loved her job. Why she would get herself pregnant, Levi didn't know. Maybe her boyfriend or husband just couldn't get it up or something. Her profile didn't mention any men in her life though.

What the hell was he supposed to do? He doubted this woman would want some random man coming up to her and telling her he was the father of her child. She chose a donor that should have wanted nothing to do with her child for a reason. Levi's hand tightened his grip on his phone as he stared at Petra's profile. He didn't want children but… Now he would have one. And his child would never know him. Levi couldn't deny that it hurt.

Just what was he supposed to do?

* * *

After a week of debating, Levi left his apartment one night and drove to find the mother of his child. Petra posted that she would be going out for dinner tonight so he would have a chance to see her in public.

Levi parked his car and got out to walk past the restaurant she was in. He didn't want to talk to her though, just see her. From the large glass windows, he saw the woman smiling and talking to an older couple at her table. Levi knew those were her parents. Her father was a teacher and her mother a nurse.

Levi knew it was extremely creepy that he knew so much of this woman already but what else could he do? This woman carried his _child_! He at least wanted to know what kind of person she was.

Levi found himself angry at her, though Petra did not intentionally do anything to him. She would carry on with her life, not knowing that her child's father was right there. Levi didn't know if he would make a good father but how could he not want to be a part of his child's life?

Would the child look like him, or her? What kind of personality would they have? How would they grow up? These questions swirled around in the man's brain as he looked at the woman. He turned away and left before he was caught staring for too long.

Levi drove away, feeling a familiar ache in his soul. From what he saw on her online profiles, Petra would be a good mother. His child would be happy, he knew. But he could not help feeling despair at the fact that he would soon have a child. A child that would never call him father.

* * *

"-and my name is Petra Ral!" The ginger haired woman introduced herself with a radiant smile.

Levi didn't know what god had done this to him. It had been three weeks since he found out about his child. The woman who had accidentally recieved his sperm was right there, introducing herself as the new photographer for the company Levi worked at. Shocked and angry, Levi said nothing as he stared at her face.

"Um, I'm glad to have received such an amazing opportunity." Petra hesitantly spoke, unnerved at Levi's almost baleful gaze and lack of response.

"Don't mind him! He has no social skills whatsoever." Hanje strode up with a smile on her face and placed an arm around Levi. He quickly shook it off and glared at her.

"Its not like yours are any better." He growled and turned around to head for his office. He did not know how to deal with this situation right now.

* * *

That night he got a text from Hanje as he had been ignoring her calls.

_Hey, don't be such a dick to the girl. Not her fault she accidentally got your demonic goo. Erwin and I did a lot to get her here so don't screw it up. I've been talking to her for a bit and she's a nice girl. I've asked and she has no significant other so you've got a chance if you really want it. She's only here for a few weeks, maybe longer if you want, and you can easily avoid her if you like for now._

_Don't be angry. We did this because you've been mopier than usual. See if you like the girl. If you do then great! Woo her then! If not then its probably best you leave her alone. At least don't waste the chance. You might regret it._

_Soooo, hate us later. Go start a conversation with the woman you've basically spent the last few weeks stalking online and obsessing over. You might not want to mention the whole sperm or stalking thing until after she falls for you though. Just a tip._

Levi spent the rest of the night thinking about Hanje's words and finally made his desision in the early hours of the morning.

Levi didn't know how things would work but he would rather not have any more regrets in his life. He would take Hanje's suggestion and apologize to Petra. He felt guilty that he was going to hide such an important detail from the woman but it was probably best he did not say anything just yet. If things didn't work then he would leave her alone without regretting his choice.


	3. Dragon

**Dragon**

"And here I was thinking a maiden had been sent to appease me. Instead, I've received a knight." The loud, masculine voice of the dragon sounded amused as it easily held down the knight with one large, scaled claw. The beast was as tall as two men and, from head to tail, it was equivalent to twelve men in length. The scales on most of it's body were black with a lustrous shine. One of the weak points of the dragon, its underbelly, was pale gold because it lacked those scales. The beast's leathery wings, which were a darker shade of gold than its belly, were folded behind it.

The knight in question, Petra Ral, struggled as the claw pressed on her stomach and chest. Her sword and bow had been knocked away and she could not reach the twin daggers on her belt. The young knight was careful not to accidentally grab the dragon's talons as she tried to push the claw off of her. The talons were wickedly sharp and could easily slice her skin open. No matter what she did though, the claw did not budge. It held her down firmly enough that she couldn't move it but not enough to make her feel like she was being crushed. The dragon had not hurt other than knocking her down once to get her in this position.

Petra wondered if the townsmen lied to her. This dragon was not the opponent she had been hired to face. What she had been hired to kill was a gryphon, one no bigger than a horse and something Petra could confidently take on. When she had reached the supposed gryphon's lair, the knight had been shocked to find a massive dragon. The ebon beast easily defeated her and that was how she ended up beneath one of its claws.

"Did you really think you could kill me with this puny piece of metal?" The dragon mocked as it picked up her sword from the ground, with the claw not holding her down, and moved to dangle it above her. Petra hated seeing her sword in the talons of this creature. The sword had been a gift from her father. The knight's hand shot out to try and grab the weapon but it was quickly pulled out of reach. The reptilian beast then dropped it in the dirt, far away from her.

"No." Petra responded truthfully. "I realize I have made a mistake by coming here." Petra feared it was a fatal one. This dragon would kill her, though it was odd that it hadn't already. Maybe it just wanted to play with its meal a bit? With that terrifying thought, Petra tried once more to break free from beneath it.

"Stop struggling. You will not be able to free yourself from me. I will not hurt you unless you give me reason to." The beast growled. Petra had no choice but to obey or risk being eaten. The dragon then continued. "Now, what have I done to incur your mighty wrath?"

"Nothing that I know of. I was to fight a gryphon, not a dragon." Again Petra thought it best not to lie to a creature that could easily kill her.

"Oh? You mean that one over there?" The beast turned to point its head to something near an entrance to a cave. "I killed the stupid beast last night when it tried to attack me."

Petra craned her neck to find that what she was looking at was a pile of charred remains. The remains were much smaller than the dragon which now held her. There were several large feathers scattered around. It would just be her luck that Petra ended up coming at just the wrong time. Another, bigger beast had come and taken care of the problem the townspeople had been complaining of.

"Are you going after the humans in the town next?"

"I don't think the humans living here and I have been properly introduced." The dragon shifted a little but didn't let up its hold on the knight. "And I don't plan on nearing their filthy little town to make one. As long as your kind leave me alone, I will leave them alone."

"What will you do with me then?" Petra asked, fearing the answer was that she would be its next meal.

"Hmm? I now find myself in the possession of a maiden. To some dragons, that is a prize." The dragon mused. Petra remembered the odd fact that many dragons demanded virgins. She never did understand why. Did they taste better or something?

"What if I'm not a maiden?" Petra blurted out. The beast tilted its head, its grey eyes boring into her own.

"I can tell you're lying. I don't understand why the deities created our kind like this but we dragons can always tell when you human females are unspoiled."

"For what purpose?"

"Breeding."

"What?" Petra hoped she heard wrong. Breeding?

"Our kind need human maidens to continue our species. I don't think you have noticed but all dragons are male. No exceptions."

"No. That... That can't be!" Petra gasped. Now that she thought about it, Petra had never heard of a female dragon. In a small voice, she added. "How would that even work?"

"Hmph. Why do you think those of our kind who like to oppress yours always ask for maidens? And not many humans know this but most dragons can in fact shapeshift into other forms, including human." The dragon said this all casually, as if it was not a big deal.

"I just thought you ate them."

"I personally refrain from eating humans, but some my brethren are different. Not many dragons dislike humans enough to kill them at any opportunity and, thankfully for you, I am not one that does either." The dragon felt the human renew her struggling underneath his claw at this information. "I do not have any plans for you to carry my offspring so calm yourself. There are other things you can do for me."

"I'll do nothing for you so let me go!" The knight yelled.

"No. I have been merciful in sparing your life when you attacked me, and as such, you will do as I say." The dragon replied. "I could crush you right now, knight, if that is what you prefer."

The dragon watched the woman's face as she debated what she should do. Eventually, he saw her face change to one of resignation.

"What do you want?" Petra finally asked. She was admittedly curious what a dragon wanted from her.

"I need a servant."

"What?" Had Petra heard wrong? The dragon sighed and shifted.

"I have recently found myself in possession of a castle." The reptilian beast began to explain. "Old and once occupied by a slob of a dragon, it is not suitable lair until it has been thoroughly cleaned and remodeled. You will help me clean and negotiate with the other humans to rebuild the castle to my standards. I, of course, do have the funds to pay the humans. Once I am satisfied with your service, you may leave."

"That's it?"

"I assure you, this will take some time. You will not be leaving my service for a year or two, at least."

"But you'll let me go afterwards? And you really don't eat people?" Being a servant for some time was better than dying.

"Are you stupid? Yes I'll let you go and no, I already said I didn't but, understand that I will defend myself when attacked by your kind. Now do you accept this arrangement?"

"... Yes." What other choice did she have?

"Good. Now hurry up and grab what you need from your beast. I am impatient to leave before more humans arrive."

"Will you at least let me leave a letter to my friends and family?"

"Do what you want."

"You're... An odd dragon."

"I've been told as such. Now hurry!" He let go of her and Petra hesitantly got up, brushing the dirt off of her armor. She watched as the dragon picked up her weapons, not allowing her the chance to retrieve them just yet. The knight backed up, not taking her eyes of the dragon as she went for her horse. The horse was trained and it had stayed in the vicinity though it must have been terrified. Petra resisted the urge to jump on it and flee. She would not get far.

Instead, Petra quickly rummaged through her bags and ripped out a page from her journal. She found her ink pot and quill and scribbled out a note. When finished, she shoved the letter into one of the bags she would be leaving on the horse. Then, the knight sorted a few things from bag to bag and took off one set of saddlebags to take with her.

Her horse would find its way back to her friends back in the town. They would see the letter and let her parents know, hopefully not worrying too much.

"What is you name, knight?" The dragon asked as she approached him once more with the saddlebags. He almost seemed surprised that she had not tried to run.

"Petra. And may I have your name, dragon?"

"Levi." It was an odd name for a dragon but Petra dared not say anything. She did not move when his claws neared her again but all they did was snatch the heavy saddlebags from her.

"Get on my back and hold on tight. I do not want my new servant to die already." Levi warned. Not knowing what would be in store for her, Petra did as he asked. The next year or two of her life would be interesting, if this was not some sort of strange trick by the dragon. Petra did not believe it was though and she clambered onto the dragon's back. He let her settle a bit before moving and taking to the air.

* * *

_Just a little oneshot that I wrote when I was bored. Might not make as much sense as it did in my head._

_Also, I'm sorry to say that Chapter 2, Donor will likely not be continued. I'm not really sure how I would go about it but if anyone is interested in writing a continuation/reimagining of that, or any other piece in this collection, then feel free. Just give me a PM first. :)_

_And thank you very much for the reviews!_


	4. The Forest

**The Forest**

The gentle breeze both swayed the branches of the tree above her and cooled the sweat on Petra's body. She covered her mouth to try and prevent the sounds of her panting breaths, her eyes wide and her ears straining for any sounds in the night. Clouds covered the light of the moon, preventing her from seeing well in her surroundings. She had tripped often over roots and forest debris while running away. Branches and shrubs had cut into her bare skin and torn her clothing.

"Damn!" She whispered fearfully. "Damn, damn, damn!" Petra couldn't help but voice her frustrations and fear. She had been separated from her friends and didn't know where they were. Hell, she didn't even know if they were still alive! Some… _things_ had chased them which caused her to be in her current situation, hiding behind a tree while catching her breath from her pursuer.

Petra regretted trying to camp in the forest with her friends. They shouldn't have accepted their classmates dare and snuck out of their dorms to enter Reiss Forest. Every year, students dared each other near the end of the semester to spend a night in its depths but few had successfully done it. The forest felt unnatural and there were many accounts of unexplained sights and sounds.

Local legend said a man had murdered an entire noble family and dumped their bodies in the forest. The spirits of the slain family had risen one night after years and tried to curse the murderer. Unfortunately, the man had already died so instead, still wanting some sort of revenge, the spirits went after the murderer's son. They cursed him to wander the forest they had died in for eternity with no way to escape, but not before causing the deaths of everyone the son had been close to. They said the cursed man had gone insane and now killed anyone who entered the forest, envious of their freedom.

Thinking that spending one night in the Reiss forest would be no problem, Petra and her friends had carefully climbed over the fence and hiked into the forest to set up camp. They chose a clearing near a dilapidated building. It was like a shrine of sorts but it was in such bad condition that it was hard to tell. Soon the friends began to hear strange sounds from the forest around them. Loud thumps, like massive footsteps and roaring. Unnerved, they had eventually concluded it must be the local animals or some sort of machinery making the noise. Maybe the real reason the forest was off-limits was because there was some sort of development going on?

Some time later after a fire had been built, a short, black haired man stepped into their sight from the darkness of the forest. His clothes looked to be years outdated, like something a person would wear in the middle ages. His mere presence sent shudders through Petra's body and his grey eyes seemed to pierce her soul as he looked at each of them in turn. All four trespassers were silent, stunned and feeling rising panic for reasons they could not explain.

The man didn't say a word as he stood before them, completely impassive. From behind him, two giant beings erupted from the trees and and roared. They looked like horribly deformed humans and their smiles were terrifying. Both creatures were slightly shorter than the trees around them. One had an oversized head with a body that looked much too thin to support it, while the other one was thicker with undersized limbs. The creatures charged and sent the friends scattering. Eld shouted at them to separate and meet up outside the forest so Petra had focused on running. She prayed her friends would be alright.

That was how Petra ended up hiding like prey, hoping to escape. It was hard to believe something like that had happened but she saw everything for herself.

Petra listened intently to the sounds of the forest. The breeze rustled the leaves in the trees, crickets chirped loudly but her own panting was by far the loudest sound in the night.

_Take deep breaths Petra. Don't freak out again now. You need to be calm and find a way to escape._

As she forced herself to calm down she instantly went stiff as she heard a loud thumps and then a crunch, like someone had stepped on a branch. Petra listened closely to the sounds, and heard the loud footsteps nearing her location. They were too loud to belong to her friends and that terrified Petra.

Slowly inching forward, the young woman crept away from the sound making sure not to step on anything that could give her away. Petra pressed herself against the nearest tree and peeked behind it to see one of the beasts sniffing the air and growling. It was on all fours now, crawling unnaturally over the ground. It weaved through the trees more easily than Petra thought a creature that shape and size could.

Petra quickly ducked back behind the tree before she was seen. Her heart raced as she closed her eyes tightly. She wished the creature would leave. Faintly Petra heard another noise. It was a much softer and faster set of footsteps.

"Fuck!"

Petra gasped in surprise at the voice. It was Gunther! She quickly peeked from her tree again. The giant screeched and turned to face the new arrival, who looked visibly exhausted. Petra's eyes widened in surprise when she saw that there was a second giant, coming up behind Gunther. He must have been running from it and ended up here.

Petra stood up and dashed forward when she saw both beasts begin to go for Gunther, who was standing there in either shock or indecision. It was two against one and Petra doubted he would be able to get away. Making her decision, Petra grabbed a rock and threw it at the nearest creature with all her might. It bounced off it's head and caused it to stop moving to focus on her.

"Hey! You ugly bastards, over here!" She screamed as loud as she could. The giants paused a moment to look at her and then back at Gunther. The didn't seem to know which one to go after.

"Petra! What the hell are you doing, run!" Gunther's panicked voice rang out as he backed away from the beasts.

"I will, just get away from them! We'll meet when we get out of here!" She yelled at him. Gunther didn't need to be told twice and nodded in her direction before fleeing. When she saw this, Petra felt relieved and fled as well. The giants once again looked to and fro, seemingly very stupid. Finally as she had made some considerable distance, she heard the thump of their massive footsteps. They had begun to move and it sounded like both creatures had chosen her to go after.

_Come on Petra, faster. The fence can't be much farther! You can outrun them and make it!_

Petra swore she could feel the breaths of those terrible beasts right behind her and though her leg muscles burned, she kept running. With her lungs burning and inhaling deep breaths, she was able to keep ahead of them. Petra had a bit of an advantage as she could maneuver through the denser parts of the forest easier than the giant creatures could. Finally, feeling as if she would collapse any second, the young woman finally broke free of the trees. She almost cried when she saw the chain-link fence.

The ginger-haired woman leapt onto the fence and began to climb, her mouth open as she gasped for breath. She screamed when she felt something warm grab her leg and pull. Petra gripped the fence with her fingers and kicked out her leg, trying to break free. She was easily pulled off the fence and thrown away by one of the giants. Petra hit the ground on her back hard, winding her and causing her to gasp for breath. Her body ached in pain and she stayed still on the ground for a few minutes. She rolled over onto her hands and knees looked to see the creatures coming nearer.

_No… Please no. Please let this be a nightmare._

Petra didn't want to die. She wished they had never come here. Why had she been so stupid? With what little strength she had, she grabbed a large rock and pushed herself into a standing position. She didn't think she could run anymore and the rock was the only thing she could use as a weapon. The beast with the oversized head was closer to her and raised its hand to strike her down. But then both creatures suddenly stopped. Petra stared as they roared once and then turned away, heading back into the forest. Not wanting to waste this chance, Petra stumbled toward the fence.

Before she could reach it, she felt someone grab her arm. Instinctively, Petra spun around and kicked at the person. The person let go of her arm and seized Petra's leg instead, pulling it hard and sending her to the ground. Her back hit the ground and rocks dug into her back. She pulled herself up so she was sitting on the ground and looked at the person above her. Her eyes widened in shock.

It was the black-haired man again. He didn't speak. His eyes and face were expressionless as he stared down at her. What did he want?

He moved closer and Petra scrambled backward. The young woman clumsily forced herself to her feet and went for the fence once more. She lunged and tried to climb over it once more but again she was stopped.

The young woman felt the hands of the man roughly grab and turn her around. She then felt him seize her throat and tighten his grip. Petra panicked as her body prevented from taking in oxygen. She tried to struggle free herself but nothing worked. Why was this man doing this? Petra could feel tears sliding down her cheeks. The man did not seem to care. After a minute Petra's vision began to go black and she struggled less. The last thing Petra saw were the man's cold grey eyes staring at her as she lost consciousness.

* * *

Petra woke with a gasp, her arms lashing out, upon regaining consciousness. She found herself on her back with a small bit of sunshine warming her face. The forest around her was dense but sunlight was still able to break through the trees. The young woman looked around and realized the fence was no where in sight. She had been at the fence so how had she gotten here?

Petra sat up and cringed at the pain she could feel from her throat. She pressed her hand against it as she remembered being choked. She trembled as she replayed that moment in her head, not wanting to remember the man's unsympathetic gaze as he did it so casually. Why had the man dropped her here?

Forcing herself to her feet, Petra did not waste time trying to go back to the fence. She did not want to stay here any longer.

* * *

Petra jumped down from the fence after successfully climbing it. She could feel the tension leave her body as her mind registered the fact that she had escaped. It was odd that she had not been stopped this time. There had been no sign of the man or those human-like giants. Petra was glad but it all seemed so strange.

As Petra took one last look behind her she smiled. She was alive and free of that place. She wondered if her friends were still waiting for her. The young woman hoped so.

When Petra looked forward once more she froze. Had there been trees in front of her just a second ago? She whirled around and found that the fence was gone. What was going on?

Petra rubbed her eyes, thinking she was seeing things. She opened them but she was still in the forest with no fence in sight. She surveyed her surrounding and gasped. She was back in the forest once more, in the exact same place she had woken up in.

* * *

_I'm sorry! I probably won't continue anything posted in this collection. I'll update the first chapter to add that. And thank you for the review!_


	5. Blood

**Blood**

Petra Ral regained consciousness slowly to the sound of a beeping heart monitor. Her eyes fluttered open in the dim light. The young woman tried to focus on her surroundings but found that everything was blurry. She squinted trying to see and blinked until things began to come into focus. Her body ached and her mouth was dry. The young woman wished she had some water.

Petra raised her head to look around her room to find that she was in a hospital. She looked at herself and found that there was an IV needle in the back of her left hand. There was was a tube leading from the needle to metal stand with the IV bag attached to it. She could see that the bag was still mostly full. Just what had happened to her that she needed one?

Struggling to sit up, Petra pressed her hand to her head at the dizziness her movements caused. Petra remembered a few things. Running, being frightened and... falling? There was something about a man too. And blood. There was something she was supposed to remember about blood…

"Ah!" The woman cried out as her head pounded and felt like it would explode. It hurt to try and remember. Petra glanced over and saw a glass of water with a pitcher on her bedside table. With trembling hands, she poured herself some water and began to drink. The ginger haired woman was able to gulp most of it down, the rest she spilt upon herself. The glass was placed back on the table when she was done.

Exhausted from even that, Petra closed her as she lay back down, not caring of the dampness on her neck and collar of her shirt. She quickly fell asleep, hoping to talk to one of the staff when she next woke up.

* * *

Petra woke again an unknown time later, her head feeling a little better though the dizziness had not yet gone. As she lay there, she could sense that something was off. The woman's eyes strained as she turned her head to try and see the source of her discomfort in the dark room. There was still a little bit of light coming from the window so she could see. She only turned her head to look around the room, feeling a little too tired to try and sit up again.

Someone had been in the room, which was not alarming as she was in a hospital. What was strange was that there were small bottles of drugs on the bedside table where she had placed the empty glass of water. She knew there had not been any there before. There was also empty syringes and another filled a quarter of the way with with… blood?

_Is that my blood? Why did the nurses just left everything like this? Was there an emergency somewhere else?_

Petra began to worry and shook her head to get rid of the nausea but it did not fade. Sighing, she decided she should talk someone this time and ask about how she had ended up here. The young woman hoped there was a button to call the nurses somewhere nearby. She didn't know if all hospitals had them but it would be easier than trying to stumble to the door and find one of them.

Petra felt some alarm when she tried to lift her arms and realized she could not. Lifting her head to look, it was then she noticed material binding her wrist to the metal frame of the bed. Confused, the ginger-haired woman stared, not comprehending why someone would do this. The IV was still in her left hand for some reason.

Petra tried to lift herself up and free her arms but she was too weak. She grunted as she struggled on the bed, realizing her legs were bound too. It exhausted her quickly and the only thing that changed was that her heart monitor's beeping increased in frequency. Giving up for now, she decided she would need to find another way to go about this and not panic. There would have to be some sort of reasonable explanation as to why this was done to her, right?

"Finally awake?" The cold, masculine voice froze the blood in the young woman`s veins and she could not help the shudder that followed. The voice brought back flashes of memories and feelings of terror and helplessness. Petra had thought this man would help her but instead, he was trying to… Trying to what? She couldn't remember!

Petra swallowed hard and slowly turned to find a black-haired man in her room. He was not there before, she was sure of it. The man stood against the wall, having been watching her for god knows how long. He didn't look to be much taller than her, and not too bulky either, but he was terrifying. His eyes were grey but they seemed to glow. A long black cloak covered his entire body except for his head and neck as the cowl was pulled down. The cloak was slightly open at the front and Petra saw that his clothes underneath were just as dark.

Petra trembled as she attempted to pull her arms free from their bindings once more. All it caused her was pain as the IV needle was pulled in different directions but stayed inside her body. The man just stared at her impassively as she struggled.

Her throat still sore, Petra then tried to shout for help as the heart monitor's beeping became faster and faster.

"Help! Someone!" Her shout only emerged as a broken whisper that nobody but the man heard and led to a coughing fit. Her eyes watered and she froze as the man began to walk towards her bed.

"Do you really want to do that? It's not going to end well for anyone that comes into this room." The man warned as he stopped at her bedside table. Petra did not know how, but she knew this to be true. This man was dangerous, every fiber of her being said so.

"Who are you?" She groaned before closing her eyes as the painful headache came back. The man said nothing in response.

"What are you doing?" Petra rasped in panic when she opened her eyes to find his hands reaching out from the cloak to pick up an empty needle and one of the bottles. The man looked at the label on the bottle before opening it up and sticking the needle inside. Petra heart raced and she renewed her struggle, fearing that he would inject it into her. Instead, the man just stared into her fearful eyes, his own looking amused, and turned towards her IV bag.

"... What am I doing?" The man repeated as he injected the syringe into the tube leading into her arm. "Exactly what I said I would... Though you might not remember what that was if you don't remember who I am."

Petra strained trying to dislodge the IV needle from her arm but to no avail. She could only watch as the unknown liquid entered her bloodstream.

The man placed the syringe on the table after he was done and let go of the tube. He then picked up another empty syringe and turned away from the woman. Petra was confused as to what he was doing but wasn't for long. The man turned to face her after a minute with a full syringe, the dark red of the liquid inside causing the woman to panic as she knew it was his. She lay frozen in shock at what was happening before her. She wanted to run but she was incapable of doing so.

"You'll remember everything soon, I hope. It will be more interesting that way." The cloaked man continued.

Whatever drug the cloaked man injected into her IV bag quickly began to take effect. Petra's amber eyes began to droop and an unpleasant numbness began to set in.

"Just relax, the drugs will take care of the initial pain."

Petra saw him raise the blood filled syringe to her IV bag next. He slowly released the contents of the needle into the bag. The clear liquid inside began to darken, tendrils of crimson branching inside the fluid and making Petra's head spin the longer she stared at them.

"Please… I don't want this..." Petra begged, knowing what would happen was something she did not want.

"You don't have a choice. You brought this on yourself when you trespassed into my home. I've waited a long time to find someone like you. You will grant me freedom from this wretched life."

"But…" Petra gasped and closed her eyes before she could finish the sentence. Her breathing began to slow as did her heart beat.

After waiting a minute to make sure she was asleep, the man cleaned up the mess and disposed of the used items. He turned back to the woman, removing the material binding her to the bed. He then backed away from the prone woman and spoke.

"Struggle against it all you want. Nothing you do can stop this now." He coldly stated before vanishing entirely.

* * *

"Please sign here and you'll be free to go Ms. Ral. There seems to be no health issues but feel free to come back to us or give us a call if anything unusual happens."

"Thank you." Petra murmured as she signed the release papers.

"You're very welcome." The nurse gave her a smile as she took the paperwork.

Petra exited the hospital quickly, not wanting to stay there any longer than she had to. She was terrified of what was going to happen to her. The man she had seen that night in the hospital had been real. She couldn't make herself believe otherwise, even when her memories of the last two weeks were nothing but a blur. She knew she had come to this country on a research trip but could not remember anything else.

So far, the young woman didn't notice anything out of the ordinary after two days in the hospital but she was worried. What did the man want with her? She hadn't told staff of the late night visitor, scared they would think she was crazy.

The young woman hurried away from the hospital, wanting to get on a plane and back into the safety of home as soon as possible.

* * *

_Wrote this one over a year ago. This was a scene in a fanfic I wanted to write but I couldn't get the story to work for me. It was supposed to be dark. I now actually forgot what I had planned for this so... Here it is as a somewhat confusing one-shot. Use your imagination to fill in the blanks. ;p_


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